Vettel was involved in an epic battle with Lewis Hamilton for pole position as the Brit pipped his title rival by 0.44 seconds. But he was reasonably happy with his performance considering his less than ideal preparation.

“To be honest this morning no, I wasn’t sure if I could do qualifying,” Vettel admitted.

“It was not the most enjoyable session, but it’s fine.

“I don’t know what happened, but it was a bit stiff. We loosened it up. I’m not worried [for the race] because the speed will be less than qualy.

“I was pretty happy with the first run in Q3, I knew I had to give a bit more in sector three, which I think I got right on the second attempt, but I seemed to lose a little bit down the straights.

“I’m not sure why. I set two laps that were identical, half a tenth you can always argue you can find time somewhere, I think he was just a little better on the final runs.

“I’m confident we can be faster tomorrow, you’ve seen today were able to pick up pace and the race is usually a bit better for us.”

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